Best Leading Actress Article in the NY Times- Page 2

[valeposh]

Posted: 5/7/14 at 2:25pm

I remember well the overture in South Pacific and how I felt literally transported into that world. Sad indeed. Great reading nonetheless. I especially enjoyed Kelli, Sutton and Idina talking from their more experienced point of view.

[haterobics]

Posted: 5/7/14 at 2:26pm

I think she meant no producers would pay for that anymore. Not necessarily the audience, although that is probably from whom producers are taking their lead..

Updated On: 5/7/14 at 02:26 PM

[LizzieCurry]

Posted: 5/7/14 at 2:27pm

So, you'd rather have the Times chop this up and seemingly not "cheat," so that we would get more text from the Times and less of the actual words of the participants?!


Actually, I'm not entirely sure. I used to be a journalist and this format is actually way easier for both the writer and the reader. Maybe I just didn't quite expect the NYT to do this.

[Sutton Ross]

Posted: 5/7/14 at 2:43pm

"Back when all the classics were written, people had a different mind-set of sitting still and listening to something and learning it. Nowadays, people want to love the music right now."

But, so many people did love the music in Bridges immediately. I wanted the cast recording as soon as I left the theater, to be able to sit still and learn in. I think a lot of other people did too. Just not enough. Man, this is depressing.

I think a lot of people would love to hear eight minutes of an overture again, especially the folks who frequent Lincoln Center. South Pacific was a huge success there, and I think they can do a similar show and be really successful. I think Carousel would have been a huge success there last year had it been a full scale production. The orchestra was thrilling to watch.

[haterobics]

Posted: 5/7/14 at 3:09pm

"I think a lot of people would love to hear eight minutes of an overture again, especially the folks who frequent Lincoln Center."

I don't think she meant there wouldn't be overtures anymore as much as there wouldn't be 40 members in the orchestra for them anymore, as there was for South Pacific.

[Sutton Ross]

Posted: 5/7/14 at 3:12pm

Right, I didn't mean no overtures, I meant long overtures. I think Carousel had a huge orchestra, which sounded great. I think people would pay for it.

[Steve721]

Posted: 5/7/14 at 3:23pm

"Carousel had a huge orchestra, which sounded great. I think people would pay for it."

I assume the production of Carousel you're referring to was the New York Philharmonic's semi-staged concert version with Kelli O'Hara and Nathan Gunn. Yes it did sound great, but having the NY Philharmonic play for a show every night would, of course, be impossible for any number of reasons, LOL.

In 1994, Lincoln Center did a revival of Carousel that was terrific, although some of the singing wasn't that great. I wish there were a DVD of that show; it's still one of the best revivals I've ever seen.

[henrikegerman]

Posted: 5/7/14 at 3:25pm

"Foster: I use Toni Collette. What would Toni Collette do?"

I love that.

[Sutton Ross]

Posted: 5/7/14 at 3:50pm

"Yes it did sound great, but having the NY Philharmonic play for a show every night would, of course, be impossible for any number of reasons, LOL. "

That would present a problem, haha. No, I just meant it would have been successful there with a full orchestra. I think there is still an audience for what Kelli is referring to in the article.

[Musicaldudepeter]

Posted: 5/7/14 at 4:02pm

Who is the frontrunner here guys? Is it Mueller? Or could Foster swoop in and get a third Tony?

[Someone in a Tree2]

Posted: 5/7/14 at 4:06pm

Agree it was a great article. I certainly valued all of the ladies' input, though maybe Kelli's just a little bit more, since I thought her gorgeous performance in Bridges shone head and shoulders above the others nominated. I agree with ray-andallthatjazz86 and others who believe Kelli is making a gentle dig at audiences who only want to hear recycled scores (i.e. Aladdin, Beautiful, After Midnight, Bullets, Joplin, et al) over brave new works like Bridges, Gentleman's Guide and If/Then. I'm right with her on this point.

[ray-andallthatjazz86]

Posted: 5/7/14 at 4:59pm

I think O'Hara's point is also speaking directly to the fact that out of four Best Musical nominees this year, only one had an original score. Honestly, Kelli O'Hara spoke like a true veteran, and hearing her speak with such frankness and incisiveness made me appreciate her even more.
SporkGoddess, I don't know that O'Hara was necessarily saying her performance didn't work, but rather that it was immensely challenging and "not fun." I can't imagine being inside of Clara could be "fun" for anyone. I actually think looking at the character too closely in terms of brain trauma is a bit misguided. Her brain trauma is not meant to be a textbook case as depicted by the fact that there's a suggestion love "cures" her, something that is obviously not tied to reality. Rather, her trauma functions as a larger metaphor for stunted growth, and Margaret's need to hold on firmly to tradition and to keep Clara as a child. I think the character of Clara is beautifully written, it's a show I've been revisiting these past few weeks, I can't imagine anyone playing it better than O'Hara (I do wish I had seen Celia Keenan-Bolger play it though).

[binau]

Posted: 5/7/14 at 5:40pm

I know recently there has been a bit of a backlash here about the blacklash about jukebox musicals but I agree with those here who think new work should be promoted. I appreciate more (both in terms of kudos to the authors' talents and also the experience as an audience member) someone who has 'made' a hat than someone who has dressed up a hat that already exists.

Also, according to the article "Violet" is selling well. In what reality? Its grosses are almost as bad as Bridges'.

I think it's a sad reality that there is no room for musicals like Bridges on commercial Broadway unless there is a film star or (very famous) television star playing a lead role. But thanks to off-broadway and not-for-profit theatres they are still likely going to be produced so all is good :).

Updated On: 5/7/14 at 05:40 PM

[Steve721]

Posted: 5/7/14 at 5:52pm

"Also, according to the article "Violet" is selling well. In what reality? Its grosses are almost as bad as Bridges'."

As others have pointed out, Violet is a production of the Roundabout Theater Company and is part of its subscription series, and my impression is that the Roundabout has a significant number of subscribed season ticketholders. I assume they don't count subscription tickets as part of the grosses.

[binau]

Posted: 5/7/14 at 6:34pm

I always assumed they did. Can anyone please confirm? That changes everything.

[KathyNYC2]

Posted: 5/7/14 at 6:36pm

"When we did “South Pacific,” they did eight minutes of overture with 40 pieces, and people loved it. No one will pay for that anymore."

That IS the most depressing line in the article..and I hadn't really thought about it before. But you really don't get overtures much anymore - unless it's in a revival. And they often don't sound as good as they used to because of the cutting of the orchestra size and use of recorded music.

As much as I loved Beautiful and I totally did..there was still that moment when Carole King and hubby are asked to orchestrate a song for strings (or cello, I can't remember exactly what the line was) but then it wound up being recorded music because they was not a full string section for the show.

It's a sad situation for me personally because I have many friends/family in the orchestra pits of various shows out there and there will eventually be less and less jobs for them.....and sad for the theater goers who don't get to experience that feeling you got like when you heard a full orchestra playing the orchestra for South Pacific when Kelli did it not all that long ago.

I don't ever remember a category where it's really just IMPOSSIBLE to pick the BEST..with all the nominees.




Updated On: 5/7/14 at 06:36 PM

[EMeraldNYC2]

Posted: 5/7/14 at 6:59pm

I agree with everything said about the lack of overtures and orchestrations in general on Broadway these days. I've played in a pit orchestra for a few local productions and in my opinion the element of an overture or entr'acte that highlights the musicians while the cast is offstage is theatre magic. That being said, not every show these days is suited for an overture. It's just interesting to see how Broadway is evolving; it's sad to have a lesser focus on the live orchestra, but at the same time, if it doesn't fit the style show, an orchestra can't be forced.

Like aforementioned posts have said, there is an audience for this type of music. I don't think the blame for Bridges closing can be put on the style of music alone, and it seemed like that's partially what Kelli O'Hara was blaming the lack of success on. Sometimes all the stars just have to align for a show to become a hit.

[Steve721]

Posted: 5/7/14 at 7:22pm

"As others have pointed out, Violet is a production of the Roundabout Theater Company and is part of its subscription series, and my impression is that the Roundabout has a significant number of subscribed season ticketholders. I assume they don't count subscription tickets as part of the grosses."

I've looked at the grosses for Violet, and I think that my prior post (which is quoted above) is inaccurate. It does seem that the calculation of the grosses for Violet must include subscribers, but I can't tell how they are being included. For example, when a subscriber purchases season tickets and gets a discount off of the single ticket price, does that discount negatively impact the percentage of potential grosses for Violet? That is, are the maximum potential grosses determined based upon the single ticket prices? I'm not sure.

Updated On: 5/7/14 at 07:22 PM

[KathyNYC2]

Posted: 5/7/14 at 7:25pm

I do agree with that^^ you can't blame the beautiful orchestra for Bridges closing. I don't think any show is going to get ticket buyers by the sound of their orchestra - which was simply amazing for this show and along with some of the performances were the best parts of the show.

But it's not enough.

I also agree you can't force a show to need a full orchestra when it doesn't. That said, if it calls for strings (for example), I don't agree with using "machines" to create the sound, no matter how well it's done. I get it on tour when you can't always travel with an entire orchestra and you can't always play in cities that have enough musicians to pick up the slack. But for a show on Broadway, it would not be the area that I would cut to save costs. I do think it takes away from the show..even if the audience doens't exactly realize what's missing.

[Brick]

Posted: 5/7/14 at 8:42pm

"When we did “South Pacific,” they did eight minutes of overture with 40 pieces, and people loved it. No one will pay for that anymore."

People weren't coming to hear the orchestra, but see SOUTH PACIFIC. And with the piece being 50 years old at that point, most of the audience knew at least one song. So, more like the accessible juke box musical than, say, BRIDGES.

And I bet KING AND I has an equally large orchestra. Whether people will pay for it remains to be seen, of course.

[orangeskittles]

Posted: 5/7/14 at 9:05pm

"I thought she was talking less about the changing climate of music itself, and more about the difficulty of original scores. With shows like MOTOWN and MAMMA MIA and even BEAUTIFUL, the audience does not have to put in the effort of listening intently and learning new music."

I don't know if that's what she meant, but I don't think that's true. Wicked, Book of Mormon, and Kinky Boots are in the top 5 highest grossing shows and all of them have original scores. Sure, jukebox musicals exist, but there are still enough successes in commercial theatre that audiences are still capable of "learning new music."

And if she did mean that, she certainly didn't have a problem with pre-existing scores when she did Nice Work.


"If "The King and I" or "Kiss Me Kate" were to open today with no movie or TV stars in the cast, would it succeed? For shows that have original scores, the scores today tend to be more pop oriented (like Kinky Boots) than something like "The King and I".

If Kiss Me Kate or Porgy and Bess had opened in the 1970s, they probably wouldn't have succeeded either. Music evolves.

[starcatchers]

Posted: 5/7/14 at 9:09pm

"can't imagine being inside of Clara could be "fun" for anyone. I actually think looking at the character too closely in terms of brain trauma is a bit misguided. Her brain trauma is not meant to be a textbook case as depicted by the fact that there's a suggestion love "cures" her, something that is obviously not tied to reality. Rather, her trauma functions as a larger metaphor for stunted growth, and Margaret's need to hold on firmly to tradition and to keep Clara as a child. I think the character of Clara is beautifully written,"

This is exactly what I came in this thread to say. The problems Clara faces, despite her injury, are quite universal.

[PalJoey]

Posted: 5/7/14 at 9:57pm

What a great piece.

My favorite part is where they suggest roles for each other. I think that's sweet.

[Sutton Ross]

Posted: 5/7/14 at 10:00pm

Nice photo of all of them.

[ray-andallthatjazz86]

Posted: 5/7/14 at 10:45pm

PalJoey, I love that too! I wanna see all of those productions. So get ready for: Jessie Mueller as the Baker's Wife (as Brantley suggested in his review of the Shakespeare in the Park production this summer), Kelli O'Hara as Guenevere (fantastic!), Idina Menzel as Eva Peron or Fanny Brice (hey, it'd sell though I don't know I'm 100% in for either one), and Sutton Foster...in a Carol Burnett musical? EDIT: Ohhh. Sutton Foster as Winifred in ONCE UPON A MATTRESS.

Updated On: 5/7/14 at 10:45 PM